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World No.1 Kim Gun Woo led the Korean Short Track speed skating team to yet another day of golden glory as the World Cup in Torino, Italy started in the same manner as last weekend’s edition in Dresden, Germany finished.

Martina Valcepina shook off the expectation of being Italy’s poster girl and delivered the 500m gold Torino was hoping for as the final Short Track speed skating World Cup of the season got under way on Saturday.

The Dutch dominated the men’s podium in Inzell on Saturday as Kai Verbij (NED) clinched the Netherlands’ first individual gold medal of the World Single Distances Championships. The European Sprint champion won the 1000m, with compatriots Thomas Krol and Kjeld Nuis collecting silver and bronze, before Jorrit Bergsma (NED) took gold in the 10,000m narrowly ahead of runner-up Patrick Roest (NED), with only bronze medallist Danila Smerikov (RUS) preventing an all-orange afternoon.

In a triumph for age and experience, veteran Martina Sáblíková (CZE) managed to fend off the challenge of 23-year-old Olympic champion Esmee Visser (NED) to win her tenth consecutive 5000m world title in Inzell on Saturday. Also on Day 3 of racing at the World Single Distances Championships, the Ladies’ 1000m was won by Brittany Bowe (USA), who left 500m aces Vanessa Herzog (AUT) and Nao Kodaira (JPN) behind to top the podium for the first time since 2015.

Rika Kihira of Japan skated off with the gold in an eventful Ladies’ Free Skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Anaheim (USA) with the standings turning upside down. Kazakhstan’s Elizabet Tursynbaeva pulled up from sixth to claim the silver and Mai Mihara of Japan surged from eighth to snatch the bronze medal.

Canadian Champions Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro edged Olympic silver medalists Wenjing Sui/Cong Han of China for a narrow lead in the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Anaheim (USA) on Friday. Cheng Peng/Yang Jin, also from China, came third.

Ruslan Murashov (RUS) stepped out of the shadow of his feted countryman Pavel Kulizhnikov to win the first world title of his career on Thursday. The 26-year-old took gold in the 500m at the World Single Distances Championships in Inzell, while world record holder Kulizhnikov could only finish seventh. To conclude the second day of competition, Netherlands won gold in the Men’s Team Pursuit, taking revenge on Norway for the semi-final defeat at last year’s Olympic Winter Games.

After racing unbeaten in the 500m since November 2016, sprint queen Nao Kodaira (JPN) finally lost her crown to Vanessa Herzog (AUT) at the ISU World Single Distances Championships on Thursday. The Austrian challenger skated a personal best and a track record (37.12) on the rink in Inzell that she calls home. In the Team Pursuit, Japanese honour was restored when Japan ladies defeated the Netherlands by 0.42 seconds to take home gold.

Mother-of-two and sprint sensation Martina Valcepina will be the beating heart of an Italian team primed to exploit home advantage at this weekend’s ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating as the sport’s elite return to Torino for the first time in two years.

Vincent Zhou (USA) cracked the 100-point barrier for the first time in his career to win the Men’s Short Program at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Anaheim (USA) on Thursday.

Sven Kramer (NED) lost his 100 percent record in the 5000m at the ISU World Single Distances Championships when Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) skated an immaculate race in Inzell on Thursday to dethrone the king and grab his first world title. Kramer ended up in third place and Patrick Roest (NED) took silver. Before the long-distance surprise, the Dutch men won the new Team Sprint event.

Martina Sáblíková (CZE) found redemption in Inzell on Thursday after losing her Olympic 5000m title in PyeongChang a year ago. The 32-year-old Czech veteran, who had struggled with a back injury that caused her to consider quitting in the run-up to the Olympic Winter Games, proved she has returned stronger than ever, winning gold in the 3000m in a track record on the first day of the ISU World Single Distances Championships. The Dutch ladies opened the championships with the first ever Team Sprint gold.